DONOVAN Cosmic Wheels (1973)
-
Artist:
-
Album:
-
Track:
Cosmic Wheels (1973)
Flawed, Charming, Curious, Odd... It's A Post 60s Donovan Album
I'd be the first to admit that Donovan may have worn out his welcome by the time the 60s morphed into the 70s. But that didn't stop him from recording interesting material that seemed to cherish his inner voice over commercial convention. Cosmic Wheels is one of those albums. Admittedly, part of its appeal was the fact it was out of print for decades. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, or something like that. But the fact is that Donovan, for all his faults, was a decidedly genuine guy and his attitude often buoyed his weaker work. It didn't help his worst work (I mean, "Intergalactic Laxative," come on) but, the title track alone is a fun rebirth of Donovan's psyche experimentation and acoustic tracks like "I Like You" and "Appearances" captured the flower child's flighty, easy going appeal. Cosmic Wheels probably won't convert the naysayers, but those in tune with Donovan's sense of play may well appreciate.
Cosmic Wheels (4:10)
Earth Sign Man (4:03)
Sleep (3:54)
Maria Magenta (2:21)
Wild Witch Lady (4:36)
Music Makers (4:30)
Intergalactic Laxative (2:53)
I Like You (5:23)
Only the Blues (3:19)
Appearances (3:44)
Flawed, Charming, Curious, Odd... It's A Post 60s Donovan Album
I'd be the first to admit that Donovan may have worn out his welcome by the time the 60s morphed into the 70s. But that didn't stop him from recording interesting material that seemed to cherish his inner voice over commercial convention. Cosmic Wheels is one of those albums. Admittedly, part of its appeal was the fact it was out of print for decades. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, or something like that. But the fact is that Donovan, for all his faults, was a decidedly genuine guy and his attitude often buoyed his weaker work. It didn't help his worst work (I mean, "Intergalactic Laxative," come on) but, the title track alone is a fun rebirth of Donovan's psyche experimentation and acoustic tracks like "I Like You" and "Appearances" captured the flower child's flighty, easy going appeal. Cosmic Wheels probably won't convert the naysayers, but those in tune with Donovan's sense of play may well appreciate.
Cosmic Wheels (4:10)
Earth Sign Man (4:03)
Sleep (3:54)
Maria Magenta (2:21)
Wild Witch Lady (4:36)
Music Makers (4:30)
Intergalactic Laxative (2:53)
I Like You (5:23)
Only the Blues (3:19)
Appearances (3:44)
33
MOG it up!
Comments (12)
Back in the early 90's I had a girfriend who was much younger than myself and she loved Donovan and I don't think she had ever heard of him before.We used to sit around and listen to a lot of music and had fun turning each other on to new music neither heard before! Anyway! I said wouln't it be cool to see Donovan Live!! And she said Yeah! Cool! then believe it or not!! On the College Radio station the Voice Again beleive or Don't See Donovan Live next Week at the Ark in Ann Arbor,Mi. ....so we went! "Wear your Love like Heaven"," Hurdy Gurdy Man" with Jeff Beck!! Wow! Killer stuff!! Very cool and energizing in a smooth way that transcends logic! Music really is what you make of it according to individual and unique styles like Donovans! One in a Million in a galaxy of stars ....he shines..Onnnnnnnnn!!! Still,,,,Now!
Hi DenRA,
Donovan was one of those guys who was well known all over the world, yet underappreciated at the same time. Investigate his past and you'll see some Forrest Gump action going on... a principal player in Dylan's Don't Look back film, meditating alongside The Beatles in India, writing with McCartney during the White Album, Beck, Page, the dot connecting goes on and on. Many dismiss him. I never have. Thanks for commenting, as always.
This reminds me of what Yogi Berra supposedly once said, "Nobody goes there any more; it's too crowded." Maybe Donovan has been underappreciated by the avant-hip cogniscenti because he had a lot of AM radio hits, he sang softly and without much anger, and was a hippie.
Woodstock was hugely popular....500,000 Hippies or hippie wannabes! But why label things unless you need to compartmentalize?
I don't think there WAS an "avant-hip cogniscenti" in the late 60s and early 70s. There are some artists that are only as popular as their current hits. A few come to mind... The Guess Who, Hall & Oates, Donovan... they were big when they were producing hits, but when they didn't have something on the charts, they were out of site/out of mind. People still recognized the name, but that was about it. It's possible that phenomenon is related to "star power." None of the names above were "personality" stars, just musical ones. And they needed a steady flow of hits or the masses (outside their fan base, of course) went on to something flashier. That's just a theory, however.
Steady Flow is about it!
DenRA, I'm ready to agree with you, but first I need to be reminded of what Steady Flow is.
Willard, there's always been a wide assortment of avant-hip cogniscenti, going back to caveman days, but here I was referring to those who you said have underappreciated Donovan. I imagine these as being people who admire the Yardbirds, the Velvet Underground, the Clash, you know, the gnarly acts who didn't have so many AM radio hits. That's just my (reductive) theory, however.
I get it. I just don't think the lines were drawn that sharply in the late 60s. People who were into FM radio - the more "serious" form of music that wasn't as "crass" as AM, were themselves listening to AM just a couple of years before that. I don't think the attitudes you're talking about really began to come about until later, when music critics began to have an influence. Critics were the ones that used to draw lines in the sand. (And, remember, rock music critics only emerged in the late 60s and even then, it was all still underground). It's my recollection (admittedly hazy) that in the 60s and very early 70s, people either liked "younger" music or didn't. I think the only line that was drawn was between rock and roll (and all it's varieties) and establishment/TV music like Perry Como and Andy Williams. I would argue the "in-fighting," if you will, or avant hipsterism didn't begin until much later and that Donovan wasn't a victim of that at all. Plenty of hipsters got stoned to Donovan just as much as The Beatles. As for the Yardbirds, they were only considered avant hip in retrospect. At the time they had a couple hits and that was it. It wasn't until Cream and Led Zeppelin and Jeff Beck's commercial emergence that the Yardbirds were retroactively re-examined. The Velvet Underground is your best example, as the Clash - in the 80s, is a whole other generation and story. But, what do I know? I lost most of my brain cells sometime in 1970.
Willard, you seem to have a goodly number of brain cells left, fortunately. Sorry about 1970, though. I've lost a few too. I keep finding them, hidden under piles around the house.
These meditations on taste wars are both seductive and amusing. To contribute to MOG is always an act of altruism and one-upmanship, just like almost any human interaction. Generalizing like this usually means I'm running out of steam.
When I run out of steam I resort to one sentence replies.
:o)
Hi Spike! A steady flow of hits is what i meant agreeing with Williard.
DenRA, I now agree with you!